It is Europe’s new powerhouse. The credit crunch will slow everything down,
but the direction is clear. Turkey is where European shipbuilding will grow,
where demand for manpower, for consumer goods, for energy and for raw
materials will grow, where shipowners will go global and where Europe can
look for strong growth and strong people close to home. Energy costs and
environmental pressures mean supply lines for everything must shorten, which
will make Turkey even better positioned. It is one of the gatekeepers to
Europe’s energy, it can be the new centre of Europe’s manufacturing, and it
will certainly be Europe’s shipbuilding centre in the near future.

When Europe emerges from the credit crunch, hungry for goods and services,
ships and shipping, will Turkey be ready to meet that demand? What do
Turkish entrepreneurs, Turkish banks, Turkish political leaders have to do
now to be ready?

Turkey is a fascinating country, full of potential, yet full of paradoxes.
Full of hospitable people, full of ideas, full of energy. Now Turkey is
again becoming a key piece of the global economic jigsaw. Now is the time to
engage with Turkey and its shipowners, its shipbuilders, its port
developers, its financiers and its movers and shakers. Credit crunches
create opportunities, and Turkey is well placed to take those up.

Welcome to a new type of forum, one which Turkish people understand well, of
free, open and often heated debate. This is not a conference with long
papers and companies pushing products. It is a day of short, punchy
presentations, the chance to talk to and meet the key people, the chance to
listen and the chance to speak. Mare Forum is coming to Turkey to harness
the energy of Turkish shipping and show how it fits into tomorrow’s world.
This forum brings together Turkish and international CEO's from shipping,
trading, brokerage and shipbuilding companies, politicians and regulators,
charterers, key investors in shipping, bankers, consultants and
entrepreneurs.

Join in, have fun, get a competitive advantage in a country that matters a
lot now and soon will matter a lot more.